Phase 2: Finding Helpful Resources

In Phase 1, I came up with 10 big questions that will be my fuel when we reach Xizhou. Phase 2 is all about finding resources that will help answer these questions through experts and websites.

I used a few key words that I used to find some sources that helped to create my questions in Phase 1. For instance, one key word that I used was "traditional." I used "traditional" as one of my key words when finding sources because it means that something was practiced for long periods of times and still practiced today. This is something that I am looking for in my research for Xizhou. Another key word that I used was "cooking," due to the fact that my inquiry project revolves around cuisine and food products. The last key word that I used was "techniques." I used "techniques" as a key word because I wanted to research about the ways that people in Xizhou cook and the definition of techniques is the ways of carrying out a particular task. That task is cooking.

I knew the information that I collected was valid because I went through the steps that I learned in class. For instance, does the article have a link where I can contact the author, a date for which it was written, "about us page", etc. Most of the articles that I read had these characteristics. I figured out who was responsible for publishing the articles by looking for the "contact us" link on the site. This link allows me to write whoever owns the article or wrote it. I also looked for a name at the top of the article.

I have chosen an expert to send an email to that has studied Dali cuisine in their lifetime. Hopefully, they will provide some sources and tips for answering my 10 big questions with the correct information. The email that I sent is shown below.

Dear Xu Honggang,

I am an 8th student at a school in Shanghai and currently I am researching about Dali local food products and cuisine. I have created a website that contains my current research on this topic and of you would like to take a look at my work and give me some feedback, I would greatly appreciate it. Here is a link to the website. http://www.sasmicrocampus.org/projects/blogs/9982/students

Lately, I have created 10 big questions to help fuel my research and I am currently trying to find sources that will help me answer these questions. I was wondering if you had any tips or links to sources that could help me in this process. My 10 major questions are listed below.

Opening a Restaurant or Stall in Xizhou:1. What is the process behind opening up a restaurant or a stall in Xizhou?2. Do the people wanting to open a restaurant or stall need any permission from the government?|Obstacles in Xizhou:3. What are the most common obstacles that stand in the way of cooking healthy meals in Xizhou?4. How do the people of the Xizhou community overcome these obstacles?Xizhou's Processed Foods:5. Do Xizhou people use processed foods in any of their meals and what are they?6. How often do they order and receive these processed foods?Other Questions:7. How do the Xizhou people keep their foods fresh over periods of time? 8. What are the common ways to serve meals, such as the traditions practiced before and while eating?9. What techniques of cooking, such as steaming, roasting, boiling, etc are most beneficial for the Xizhou people?10. What locally grown foods are the most valuable to the Xizhou community, meaning that without them the people would have difficulty eating the right amount of food to be healthy?

Thank you for your time.

Taylor

Currently I have not received a reply. However, I will update this page if I do.

I enjoy learning new things, pushing myself past my limits, reading, spending time with the people I love, playing sports, being active, and having fun. I am a spunky, athletic, creative person. I like to bake and be in nature. I feel my best when I have had enough sleep, healthy food, and had a good laugh.